


This Moment

by InsaneJul



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Love Confessions, Possibly Unrequited Love, Realization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 12:12:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8578144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsaneJul/pseuds/InsaneJul
Summary: It is in this moment he realizes...





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry to all TFTB Rhysha shippers, but omg do I not get it. Rhys/Fiona all the way. My first playthrough I made it...as canon as it gets. They're great. Anyway, Rhys has feelings and he figures stuff out and maybe they get together at the end?? Jeez who knows.

            It is in this moment that he realizes he might love her.

            Which, you know, thinking about it, this is absolutely the wrong moment to realize that—maybe there never will be a right moment to realize that—but it’s this moment all the same. This moment as he watches the ship leave—after she told him she wouldn’t leave him.

            Should he be surprised and betrayed? He’s really not sure. He is anyway. Right as he began to really trust her—really like her—and now he might be—

            So he can’t bring himself to do anything but watch the ship fly away through an ever-shrinking hole until he can’t see anything, and finally gathers the strength to climb up the power core. “Fiona…” he says. He’s not really sure what he’d say if she could hear him. Probably something stupid that he’d regret later. That seems to be the trend, anyway.

            He tries to convince himself that there was a good reason she would do that to him as he calls Loader Bot for help. Right now all he can concentrate on is his own survival, and he can worry about…other things…later.

 

            It is in this moment he remembers her. He just regains consciousness, one-armed and weak and close to bleeding out, and he wonders what happened to her, for the first time. If she made it back in better shape than he did. Well—she must be in better shape than he is right now. She’s fine—she always knew how to land on her feet. It was one of many things he admired about her.

            What’s important for right now is patching himself up. He won’t have an easy time surviving on Pandora with only one arm and one eye. He didn’t really do well when he had both anyway. She’s the whole reason he managed to live through all of this, and he owes her…god, he owes her so much. Over and over again he would mess with her, tease her, flirt with her, and slowly made her hate him—or maybe she didn’t, he won’t know now, probably—but this whole time he never really thought to himself how much he owed her. How indebted to her he is, and for the first time in his life maybe he doesn’t mind being in debt. But just to her—only to her.

            It doesn’t really matter now, since he probably won’t ever see her again. He tells himself it’s natural he’s a bit sad; they went through so much together, that affects the way you see a person. He won’t let himself think what he thought back on Helios again.

 

            It is in this moment he hopes again. A message from Fiona: the very last thing he expected to receive today, or ever. He wonders what she did after landing, for the millionth time. It’s been so long and he never really believed he would hear from her. She tells him she wants to meet, wants to talk it out, and he is so elated he doesn’t even think it could be a trap.

            Would anyone? Was he really at fault for not thinking of it? He was just so overjoyed. He was just so excited to see her again, so she’d smile at him, cock her hip just a tiny bit the way she does when she relaxes, fix her stupid little jaunty hat. It’s so ridiculous and he won’t allow himself to realize the reason why he thinks of her so often and misses her so _goddamn much_. And, he knows, he couldn’t be the one to get hold of her— _she’s_ the one who left _him_ without a word, and he gets to be hurt.

            He probably should have seen it coming, in hindsight, that it wasn’t from her—why would she want to see _him_ , anyway? She never liked him at all. And he’s just so angry at himself for believing, for _hoping_ the way he did, for _almost admitting_ everything to himself, that he takes it all out on her and starts yelling. She seems like she expected this, and the disgusted look on her face when she first sees him certainly doesn’t help his mood.

            _Of course she didn’t send the message. Of course she doesn’t want to talk it out. She_ did _leave me, and I’m a sucker. I always have been._

            It is in this moment he decides he can admit it. She has been glaring at him for even looking at Sasha sideways—and honestly, Sasha is very pretty and all, and she’s a good friend to have, but she’s not _Fiona_ , not to him, anyways. So when Fiona hisses, “Stay away from Sasha,” it’s surprisingly easy to finally admit the truth to himself. And maybe—maybe—he can risk it—maybe he can admit it to her too—

            “It’s…because I’m interested in someone else.”

            He can’t quite look her in the eyes as he says it, but when he does look up, meets them, he sees she’s smiling, just a little. Maybe she understood what he meant. So he smiles back, and before he does something stupid like kiss her, he turns back to the Vault and diffuses the situation. If she understood, they can discuss that at a more opportune time.

 

            It is in this moment he knows he regrets nothing.

            He and Fiona open the Vault and when they are transported away together, he knows there is no one he’d rather be with. So when they open their eyes to blinding lights leading them forward, unimaginable treasures and adventures awaiting, he doesn’t hesitate, and he takes her hand. For a moment, he is unsure, but her fingers curl into his and their eyes meet, just once, before they step into the unknown.

            Together—because this is the best part, and they get to share it.


End file.
